Amateur-built RV-7A accident near Gerrardstown, West Virginia, April 16, 2012
On April 16, 2012 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built RV-7A, registered N5025G, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Gerrardstown, West Virginia. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot/builder's misjudgment of the required spacer width needed after engine housing lap grinding, which resulted in bearing oil hole misalignment and insufficient internal engine lubrication.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 16, 2012 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Gerrardstown, West Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-7A
- Registration
- N5025G · no longer on the register · serial 71591
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, after about 2 1/2 hours of local flight, while maneuvering at 3,000 feet, the airplane's rotary engine coolant temperature rose. As the pilot turned the airplane back toward the departure airport, the engine seized and would not turn over during an attempted restart. The pilot performed a forced landing in a field, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot, who was also the airplane's builder, subsequently disassembled the engine and found that the stationary gear/bearing was frozen to the eccentric shaft. The pilot also reported that he had recently attempted to fine tune the engine by having the side and intermediate housings undergo lap grinding. The pilot knew the grinding would require wider spacers, which he used, but which may have still been insufficient in width. The insufficient width resulted in bearing oil hole misalignment on the eccentric shaft, which blocked oil from reaching the rotating engine and reduction drive shaft parts.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during maneuvering defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Power plant › (general) › Related maintenance info
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Oil › Related maintenance info
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Expectation/assumption › Owner/builder
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,196 hours in all; 290 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 2,000 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 19, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 290 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, April 19, 2011; 60 hours since
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Mazda 13B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRB Martinsburg WV at 4:30 pm
- Destination: MRB Martinsburg WV
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 11 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from MRB, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N5025G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.